By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
\u2018Jeff Jones Plants & Produce\u2019 has been a name synonymous with Bacchus Marsh\u2019s Avenue of Honour for more than three decades, but the shop will be shutting its doors permanently later this year.<\/p>\n
Also known affectionately as \u2018Jonesy\u2019s\u2019, the shop has been run by Jeff and Glenda Jones for 35 years, with help from their family in recent times.<\/p>\n
Ms Jones said closing the shop would be a bittersweet moment for the family, but she has treasured memories of \u201cour wonderful customers and staff\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a bit of a wrench\u2026I\u2019m looking forward to it now, at first it felt a bit premature, and I wasn\u2019t ready. Making the decision was hard, but there\u2019s a lot of reasons right across the board, age being probably the most predominant,\u201d Ms Jones told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur eldest son Anthony drew the line in the sand, he wants to move on, and I can\u2019t run the place without him. My favourite things about running the shop are our customers and staff, they\u2019ve been my life. Some of the most treasured memories I have are of the young people that have come to work for us, hopefully we gave them a good work ethic and some confidence to deal with the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve all gone on and done wonderful things. We\u2019ve employed two generations of families, for one family in particular we\u2019ve employed all their children. It\u2019s been very rewarding watching them mature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonesy\u2019s will officially close on 27 November, with the space to be reserved for Smokehouse 720 diners if the business wants to do undercover dining.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Michael from the Smokehouse wants to, it\u2019s there for him to use. I\u2019ve told him that I\u2019ll be over there working for him, whether he likes it or not. I threatened the strawberry farm that I\u2019d go over and annoy them too,\u201d Ms Jones joked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t got any retirement plans at the moment, I\u2019ve just lived for this place. I\u2019ve got nothing I want to do, I don\u2019t want to travel, I may do two small trips, but I\u2019ve got no major ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n
After all the highs and lows of running a business, and both bumper crops and poor harvests, Ms Jones said she\u2019s looking forward to most is waking up in the morning and thinking \u201cwhat will I do today?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a couple of weeks of that though, I might be going stir crazy,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n
Ms Jones thanked the many local supplies and business customers who have worked with Jonesy\u2019s over the years, including, but certainly not limited to: Naturipe, Tripod Farmers, Ben and Erin Peelman, Rancho Relaxo, Parwan Valley Mushrooms, Mount Blackwood Berries, YMCA Lake Dewar and Lady Northcote, Halls Gap Zoo, and The Plough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis \u2018Jeff Jones Plants & Produce\u2019 has been a name synonymous with Bacchus Marsh\u2019s Avenue of Honour for more than three decades, but the shop will be shutting its doors permanently later this year. Also known affectionately as \u2018Jonesy\u2019s\u2019, the shop has been run by Jeff and Glenda Jones for 35 years, with […]<\/p>\n